Posted by US-Out-of-UN, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 17, 2013 at 1:18 pm

The US is still paying 25% of the UN’s bills—yet it has only about 6% of the world’s population, and is providing more-or-less worldwide security—either with US troops directly, or through the various mutual defense organizations in which it is a member.

Europe, with more people than the US, and the source of most of the wars waged over the past two millennia, should be paying more than the US.

The UN has never really achieved its envisioned goals of stopping wars—using its energies to attempt to become a defacto world government instead. It is way past time for the US to exit this organization. It has failed more often than it has succeeded.

Time for US to go!

Posted by black dog helicopters, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jan 17, 2013 at 1:35 pm

The US uses the UN as a proxy to take up some slack we don't want our DoD to perform. Saves costs, lives, and let's other countries be perceived as the cops or bad guys, all for a few billion a year. Compare that to what we spend on the Pentagon!

Here is what we spent in 2010. Compare that to the $60 billion in Sandy relief, or the HUNDREDS of billions on the Pentagon, or the trillions in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Leave your tinfoil, black helicopter conspiracy theories at home. "attempt to become a defacto world government" Get real. Sheesh!

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

U.S. Contributions to the United Nations System

Total Contributions by Agency

($ obligations in thousands)

Contributing Agency FY 2010

Department of Agriculture 100,309

Department of Commerce 8,017

Department of Defense 2,168

Department of Energy 4,500

Department of Health & Human Services 139,350

Department of Interior 395

Department of Labor 49,125

Department of State 5,420,372

Department of Transportation 3,348

Department of Treasury 30,000

Environmental Protection Agency 10,575

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 700

National Science Foundation 474

Peace Corps 100

U.S. Agency for International Development 1,921,572

U.S. Postal Service 307

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission 510

TOTAL 7,691,822

Posted by US-Out-of-UN, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 17, 2013 at 1:55 pm

> Compare that to the $60 billion in Sandy relief,

> or the HUNDREDS of billions on the Pentagon

Well .. the Sandy relief, as ill-considered as it is, will be spent here in the US, for US taxpayers/residents/businesses. Not so much for the billions thrown away at the UN.

Expenditures on the Pentagon are always hard to track, since the US is now spending more that about 160 other nations combined on its defense apparatus--effectively stabilizing the world via "The PAX Americana". The UN, while it does, from time-to-time, send men into various troubled areas, their performance, more often than not, should be characterized as "farces", rather than "forces".

Recent attempts by Islamic Countries to pass binding treaty obligations on member nations would effectively have neutered our 1st Amendment--which gives us the right to critisize Islam, Christianity, and "government". Any organization that attempts to remove our rights, and direct how we live our lives--is most surely a "government". Whether it is "defacto" or not--it is trying to force its agenda down the throughts of the world's people.

Why don't you wake up and smell the stench of that organization--rather than seeing "tinfoil helmets". But then, you probably are also a big fan of the League of Nations, aren't you?

Posted by Sean, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jan 17, 2013 at 1:58 pm

@blackdog helicopters: Pretty good deal, given what we spend money on in this country. If it keeps our military from having to go 'boots-on-the-ground' in even one country in the next decade, it more than pays for itself.

Are the tinfoil hat dead-enders still whining about a giant one world government???? That's almost funny, if it wasn't so sad.